IT contractors are expecting a large number of roles to be created in financial services in the next 12 months, as investment in the sector continues to produce more opportunities, according to employment provider giant group.

By Antony Savvas

Computerworld UK|Jun 19, 2014 8:00 AM
PT

IT contractors are expecting a large number of roles to be created in financial services in the next 12 months, as investment in the sector continues to produce more opportunities, according to employment provider giant group.

Results from the organisation's latest survey of IT contractors found that 22 percent are predicting that more job opportunities will be created in the financial services sector over the next year.

Many banks are currently heavily investing in technology that can aid them in streamlining capital and liquidity reporting through either in-house developments or off the shelf packages, and this is what is partly behind the demand for IT contractors, said giant.

Organisations are having to draft in experts with niche skill sets to focus on extensive regulatory and legislative projects.

Managing director of giant group Matthew Brown said: "It's exciting, if unsurprising, to see IT professionals in financial services being so sought after, given the ongoing investment in the sector. The majority of the demand we're seeing is for contractors with specialist technical skills as many businesses are investing in their reporting systems."

Brown said: "Part of the demand could also be driven by the number of mergers in the financial services sector in recent times. We've seen Bank of America and Merrill Lynch join forces as well as the RBS/ABN-Amro merger, and these large-scale unions create sustained, long-term assignments in a number of areas - not least the huge systems migration projects and change management programmes needed to ensure a seamless changeover."

Brown said this demand will "continue to intensify" as "there simply aren't enough permanent specialists on the ground at the moment". This is in line with other results from the giant survey, which found that the percentage of contractors expecting a pay increase grew by 6 percent, "reflecting the demand that many professionals feel will be shown", Brown said.

This story, "IT Contractors Expect Rich Pickings in Financial Services Market" was originally published by
Computerworld UK.